Majority claim to be physically active

The majority of people in Ireland claim to be physically active — more than half are members of a sports or fitness club, while solo activities have become more popular than team sports.

Data released by the Central Statistics Office show nearly 73% of the population takes part in some form of physical activity.

It includes 37.8% who take part in sport, and 34.7% who do not take part in sport but who walk for recreational purposes.

The most popular location for walking is the local neighbourhood (77.2%), well ahead of the next most popular choice, the local park (9.1%).

More than half of respondents, or 57%, say they are members of a sports or fitness club while an additional 4% are members of two or more clubs.

Of those who take part in sport, the most popular activities are individual pursuits such as aerobics (19.2%), swimming (14.2%) and cycling (13.6%).

Almost a third of respondents over the age of 65 cite golf as their main physical activity — the overwhelming majority are male.

Team sports account for less than 20% of activities cited by respondents while, interestingly, almost twice as many people play soccer (7.7%) as Gaelic football (4.3%).

The study finds sporting activities are undertaken by more men than women, with females more likely to go walking, for either fun or fitness, than men.

When asked about the motivation behind their activity, most people (81.9%) said they wanted to improve their physical health and fitness.

The second most popular reason, at only 7.7%, was the ‘social element’ of physical activity.

The main additional facility those involved in sport would like to see in their local area is a swimming pool (19%), followed by designated on-road cycle routes (11%) and public walkways (8.1%).

More than a quarter of the population (27.5%), however, say they are not physically active at all.

This includes 12.8% who do not take part in any sport, but still walk to where they’re going, and 14.7% who do nothing at all.

The most common reason given by a person to explain their inactivity is a lack of time either due to work or family commitments.

Others say it comes down to a lack of motivation. Almost a third of people say illness, injury, or disability is the reason for their inactivity.

Meanwhile, Swim Ireland is encouraging more people to get active by taking up swimming.

They have released details of their second annual Swim for a Mile challenge, which has just been rolled out nationwide.

The organisation will provide a free training programme to anyone taking on the challenge this year, as well as support, advice and motivation.

Sarah Keane from Swim Ireland encouraged people of all ages to get involved in the event, which this year takes place between May 18 and 22.